BOSTON --

Safe highway driving requires a special set of skills and knowledge. Here are some "rules" that you should keep in mind when driving on highways.

Getting Up To Speed

On-ramps are designed to give you space to reach proper speeds before you merge onto the highway. It's unsafe to merge onto the highway below the normal flow of traffic. Tentative and overly cautious drivers can be a risk to themselves and other drivers.

Never drive to the end of the ramp and slow to a crawl, or stop waiting for a space to open. At the proper speed, the traffic on the highway is much more likely to be able to accommodate your merge.

Stopping

You should never stop on a highway, breakdown lane, ramp or median unless it's an emergency. Stopping on a highway is extremely dangerous. Potty breaks, unruly kids, stretching your legs, or looking at a map are not emergencies. Those activities should take place after you have exited the highway.

In the event of an actual emergency, you should move as far to the right as possible. Be aware that some portions of Route 128 and 93 have active breakdown lanes during rush hours, which allow drivers to legally travel in the breakdown lane.

When you're driving and you approach a stopped vehicle, please change lanes and give that vehicle a wide berth. It's for your safety and theirs.

Backing Up

Is there anything more dangerous and foolish than this? If you miss your exit, don't back up. Continue to the next exit and turn around legally. Do not cross the median either. Crossover lanes are for emergency vehicles only. Using these lanes for a U-turn is dangerous; your entry to the highway would have to happen without a ramp and into the left lane.

Visual Check

Mirrors are important, but shouldn't be relied upon when making a lane change or merging onto a highway because they do not show blind spots. ALWAYS turn your head to get a direct visual check of the space you are trying to move into.

Right Lane

On a multilane highway, the right lane is used for traffic that is entering and exiting. Once you have made it onto the highway and are into the flow of traffic, when space is available, you should move into the middle lanes. However, don't immediately barrel from the on-ramp to the middle lane. I often see drivers go straight from the on-ramp to the middle lane without a transition phase and without looking. This is a dangerous move. You should changes lanes one lane at a time.

Middle Lanes

The middle lanes are for through traffic.

Left Lane

The left lane is for passing. The only time you should be in the left lane is when you are passing another vehicle.

Merging Traffic

As noted above, on multilane highways, the right lane is generally considered to be used for on and off traffic. If you're in the right lane of a highway and see traffic entering ahead, you should make an effort to accommodate those cars. That means speeding up, slowing down, or moving to the left so that there is less chance of a collision.

Emergency Vehicles

If you encounter an emergency vehicle on a freeway, as you do on other roads, you should move to the right and to let it pass on the left. You do not need to pull right and stop as you do on other roads. Emergency vehicle drivers are trained NOT to pass you on the right unless there is no other means of passing.